


Winds of Change

by L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n



Series: Marvel Hero Academia [26]
Category: Captain Britain and MI: 13, Marvel (Comics), Spider-Man - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Demon Takami Keigo | Hawks, Divine none-interference clauses, Don’t copy to another site, Gran being a grump, Tengu, Training, Yôkai, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28705068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n/pseuds/L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n
Summary: In which Izuku meets an old, odd, friend of Gran's.
Relationships: Gran Torino & Midoriya Izuku
Series: Marvel Hero Academia [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686835
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Winds of Change

Winds of Change

**Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated characters, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi**

/+/+/+/+/

Izuku looked out the window of the bus, unable to keep a frown off his face, “Is…Is this safe?”

He could see Gran nod in the reflection. “Yes. Mt. Fuji is…sacred. It’s one of the few places left that the Yokai judiciously claim as their own—if open to us humans. Even in his prime, All for One didn’t mess with them.”

Izuku whipped his head around, “Really?” Gran nodded once more, and Izuku leaned back in his seat. Mythological creatures and gods were a sore subject the world over, and Japan had done its best to pretend they didn’t exist (which made things awkward when children of those same creatures and gods—usually Zeus—popped up every few years). To hear that All for One—this demon that haunted the country for decades—was wary of them too…It made him feel lighter. Reminded Izuku that All for One, at the end of the day, was as human as the rest of them.

“Now,” Gran frowned, “you’ve got a pretty decent grasp on using One for All—not as good as I’d like, but it’s not like I can directly help you with that.” Izuku nodded—he was getting better at increasing his body’s tolerance with One for All. He _really_ wanted to test the whole ‘healing yourself’ thing, but the one time he tried (with a scrapped knee) Gran slapped him upside the head and told him to not try it unless they had a health-care professional nearby (when Izuku asked when they could get someone, Gran slapped him again and had him sprint laps). “Let’s get something straight,” Gran continued, “You will, eventually, become stronger than Toshinori.” Izuku blushed at the reminder of their shared Quirk’s nature. Stronger than Toshinori…he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around it. “But you cannot fight like him.”

“I know, I’m not ‘physically large enough’,” Izuku replied in his best grumpy old man voice.

Gran huffed, “Cheeky brat. At least you listen.” He scratched his chin, “In any case, if there’s one thing we can _definitely_ make you better than Toshinori at, it’s your agility.”

Izuku frowned, “How? What can we do out here that we can’t do in the city?”

“You’ll see,” was all Gran said, a grin playing on his lips. Izuku tried not to grimace—the last time he’d seen that look, Gran made the back of his head intimately familiar with the ground.

They finally made it to Aokigahara, and Gran forced Izuku to lug their bags for thirty minutes though the woods. It wouldn’t have been so bad, if Gran hadn’t taken them clear off the beaten path. The old grump had to gall to just hover in the air as Izuku tried, and failed, not to trip on his face.

“Gran,” Izuku said after picking himself up for the third time, “about the Yokai.”

“Worried we might run into them?” his mentor preempted him. At Izuku’s nod, he shrugged, “No clue, but I doubt it. Aokigahara is theirs, but they don’t try and keep people off of it. Well, most of them.”

“Most of them?” Izuku parroted.

“They’re not some uniform hivemind,” Gran replied. “There are some real bastards out there—but that’s the same with humans. For the most part, they’re decent folk that just want to live their lives.”

Izuku blinked, peering up at the semi-retired Hero. “Are you…speaking from experience?”

“I was active back when the Yokai came out as real—the tail end, at least.” Gran huffed, “Boy, was that a shitshow if there ever was one.”

“Actually, what happened back then? If even half the myths and legends are true, even with Quirks, we would have been hard-pressed to put up a fight.”

“Well,” Gran dropped back to the ground, frowning up at Izuku, “you’re right. Considering half the shit Yokai can do—and trust me, they can do a lot—back then, before our Hero Society really picked up, they’d wipe us out within a year.”

“Why didn’t they?”

“For one, fear of retribution from foreign gods—it’s not as though Japan was as isolated as it used to be, even back then. But the biggest reason, the one I was made intimately aware of, was that their victory would be pyrrhic at best.” Gran arched a brow, silently asking Izuku why that was.

The Hero-in-training furrowed his brow, biting his lower lip. What would the Yokai have been afraid of? Well, if they’d declared war on all humans living in Japan, that’d be a surefire way to get every civilian, crook, Hero, and Villain together under one banner—especially since the Yakuza were reaching a new peak back then, to say nothing of whatever All for One might have done. Whatever battles would be fought would probably have been brutal—even without powered individuals, modern humans had automatic weapons and computer guided missles and—

Izuku gasped, the answer flashing to life in his mind. “They were afraid we’d burn everything to the ground.”

Gran nodded. “Yokai are, above all else, connected to nature,” he said, voice solemn, “part of the reason they came out back then was in fear of human expansion, on top of the radiation from the bombs. They’d hoped to convince people to slow down, or at least be mindful of the consequences. But people weren’t happy that these powerful creatures had stayed hidden for centuries. They _especially_ didn’t like that they didn’t try and stop the bombs—never mind that they wouldn’t have been able to do shit, or that they were just as devastated by them as us.” Gran shook his head, “Anyway, there were some skirmishes—Nana and I met during one of them, actually—but in the end the Yokai decided that a war was the last thing anyone wanted, so all they asked was that Japan step up its conversation efforts and officially give them a handful of locations—Aokigahara being one of them.”

Izuku hummed, “Have there been any talks about…trying again?”

“Nothing substantial, as far as I’m aware,” Gran replied. “Shame—we could learn a lot from each other. And it’d get us even with other nations in terms of magic.”

“How do you mean?”

“Did you know that some Shinto priests and priestesses possess true magic?”

Izuku nodded, “I’ve long suspected it.” He researched it a lot when he was a kid. He could never figure out if it was something you had to be born with.

“Well, they both knew about the existence of Yokai, _and_ didn’t try and help with the war effort.” Gran let out a bitter huff, “Can you see where I’m going with this?”

“Is that why shrine visits have become less popular over the years?”

“One of the reasons, I’m sure.” Gran sighed, lifting his head up to the sky, “Gah…I’m too old to be drudging up this shit.”

“Sorry,” Izuku blushed. Gran just shrugged, lifting into the air once more and leading Izuku forward.

/+/+/+/+/

“We’re here,” Gran cheerfully called, dropping to the ground and leaning against a tree. Izuku sighed in relief, dropping the bags to the ground. “Open ‘em up.” Izuku did so; the first bag had a bunch of food and water. The second bag had a bunch of metal rings, each one with a large box attached to them. “Dump the rings on the ground.” Izuku did so, picking one up as he rose to his feet.

“What are these things?”

“Something Nana and I used to train with back in the day. Toshinori too, I suppose, but he never really kept at it. Push the button on the box.” Izuku did so, jolting back when the ring expanded over three times its size. “Now toss it up, doesn’t have to be all that hard.” Izuku once again did as instructed, blinking when the ring hovered in the air, parts of it lighting up red.

Gran hopped through the ring, after which the lights turned green.

“Oh!” Izuku snapped his fingers, “Some sort of ring course.”

“Yup,” Gran nodded, picking up the other rings. “This will help you learn how to really move with your powers. Use the environment to your advantage. Watch.” Gran pressed the buttons on the other rings—twenty-five in total, tossing them at various heights and areas, some far apart, others almost side-by-side. He then pulled out his phone, tapping it multiple times before tossing it to Izuku—there were images of the rings, along with a global timer, and a timer for each individual ring. “On your mark,” Gran said.

Izuku blinked, looking down at the phone. “Uh…Go,” he said as he pressed the ‘start’ button. There was a sudden rush of air, and before Izuku could even think about looking up, Gran cleared five of the rings. He jerked his head up, eyes widening at the blur of Gran practically bouncing around the forest, passing through the rings like a man possessed.

He lost sight of the retired Hero, jolting back when he landed in front of him, ending the short course. Izuku looked down at the phone; Gran had completed the course in 1 minute and 23 seconds. The man himself leaned forward, clicking his tongue when he read the time, “Damn, I am getting old.”

Izuku darted his head up, “What?! Are you saying that you used to be able to do this in-in-in under a minute?”

Gran huffed, “Don’t be crazy! With how haphazard I placed those things? On an official government approved course, certainly,” He shook his head, “But I was expecting under a minute ten.”

Izuku gulped, “Is…Is that my goal?”

Whatever Izuku was expecting in response, it wasn’t the hearty laugh Gran sent his way. “Well, you certainly think highly of yourself, don’t you?” Izuku blushed, looking down at his feet. “Nah, speed will come later. You’re focus will be on just going through each hoop.” He swiped the phone from Izuku’s grasp, “Go.”

“Wai—now?” Izuku jerked back, “Shouldn’t I prepare myself or warm up or something?”

“What do you call our little hike?” Izuku sent him a flat look. “You’re losing time.”

“I thought you said that didn’t matter?” Gran glared at him, and Izuku quickly did as instructed.

He decided to start off easy, powering up to ten percent. He shot forward, leaping through the first ring and darting left to hit the next three. Unfortunately, he hit a snag with the fourth one—it floated high above the trees. He could probably reach it by jumping up, but he needed to go through it, and he doubted it would be able to support him long enough for him to pull himself through. But if he went at it from an angle…

He looked around, grinning upon seeing a tree with tall enough branches. He jumped onto it, climbing up as high as possible. He looked between the branch and his target—it’d be tight, but he could make it. Probably. He leaned over, pressing his right foot against the branch. It shook a bit but looked stable. Yeah, he’d be fine. Taking a deep breath, he let go of the tree trunk, using the branch to leap into the air.

At least, that was the plan.

_Crr-Crssh_

“WaahhHHH!” Izuku shrieked, plummeting to the earth.

“Anything broken?” Gran called out.

Izuku groaned, “Ugh…no…”

“Well then, keep going!”

Izuku grumbled beneath his breath but did so regardless, running towards a new tree.

/+/+/+/+/

“Well,” Gran plucked a twig out of Izuku’s hair, “at least you finished.”

Izuku nodded, frowning as another broken plant in his hair revealed itself. “So, what was my—”

“Let’s not worry about that,” Gran cut him off—though the slight grimace he wore made Izuku’s ears burn. “In any case, what have you learned?”

“Don’t fall.” Gran sent him a flat look. “I mean…” Izuku trailed off, thinking about how he could improve. Namely, what caused the majority of his failures. “…I need to pick better trees.”

Gran huffed, “Obviously. But there’s more.” He jabbed Izuku’s chest, “You slow down. You hesitate. When you make a turn, make a jump, climb a tree, you stop to think.” Gran spread his arms, taking a deep breath and hovering in the air, “You need to constantly be in motion—like a shark. You stop, you’re dead.”

Izuku frowned, “So…how would I do that?”

“That, I can’t tell you.” Gran returned to the ground, “We might have similar builds—you know what I mean,” he said when Izuku tilted his head at him, “and I can certainly point you in the right direction and cut off any bad habits before they fully form, but I can’t hold your hand the entire time.”

“Right,” Izuku nodded, “But…why did we have to come all the way out here to do this? Aren’t there training facilities—like U.A.—that we could use? Or just do this in the city?”

“There are some top-notch facilities in Tokyo,” Gran nodded. “But we’d be hard-pressed to book one of those places in such a short notice, U.A. included. And,” he arched a brow, “considering how many times you ate shit, do you really think it would be a good idea to practice around glass and concrete?”

Izuku blushed, looking down and scratching his neck, “I guess not.” He crossed his arms, mumbling, “I wonder if they would have taught me this at U.A.”

“U.A. has other things to worry about,” Gran said, tossing Izuku a bottle of water. Izuku blushed—he needed to stop mumbling so loudly—but managed to catch the drink. “Things have changed since Toshinori went there, but I imagine that for a first-year like yourself, they want to focus on the basics—the ‘how to stay alive’ stuff. Internships are when you’re supposed to figure yourself out, so you’re on track.” He clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing into a stern glare, “But ‘on track’ won’t cut it. We need to push you ahead of the curve. As far ahead as possible.”

Izuku nodded, face shifting into a frown. His peers could take things (relatively) easy. But not him. Not when he had a nigh-immortal demon lurking in the shadows, waiting and eager to strike.

“Now,” Gran rolled his shoulders, “I want you to run through it again, but do your best to keep moving. Even if you have to run in circles while you try and find the best route, I want you to keep moving.”

Izuku nodded, tossing the half-empty water bottle back in its bag. Time to get to work.

/+/+/+/+/

Izuku dropped to the ground, heaving as he stared up at the rings floating in the sky. “Better,” Gran called down from a tree, “by the time we have to leave, you might even be passable.” Izuku rolled his eyes but rose to his feet regardless. He scanned the clearing; there were a number of broken branches littering the ground, and some gouges where he gripped a tree a touch too hard or crashed more than landed. But he smiled nonetheless—they (and the bruises forming on his body) were signs of his progress.

Izuku jumped to his feet, hopping in place as he let One for All soothe his aching muscles (that might bite him in the ass later, but that was future Izuku’s problem). He marched backwards, lining up with the first ring.

Only to stumble back as Gran rocketed down in from of him. “Wha—”

“Quiet!” Gran shushed him, “There’s something out there, flying in from the south.”

Flying? Izuku looked up, eyes widening as some giant, winged form steadily made its way towards them. He gulped, “I-Is that?”

“A Yokai? Maybe. Could just be some human with wings. Just be cool and let me do the talking.” Izuku nodded, in no mood to question Gran’s words. The figure grew closer, revealing that its wings were black, it’s face similar to Tokoyami’s, but with smaller eyes and a wider, red beak. And to top it all off, it wore a set of loose-fitting white robes.

Izuku wasn’t an avid study of folklore, but even he knew what this thing was.

“A Tengu,” Gran snorted, “Just great.” Izuku gulped, diving deeper into One for All, electricity sparking along his body. He still wasn’t confident in his aerial movement, but Gran could cover for them both on that front, and if they got it to the ground, Izuku was positive he could knock it out long enough for them to flee.

“Don’t do that!” Gran admonished, breaking Izuku’s concentration. He stared askance at his mentor, and the elderly man sighed, relaxing a touch, “Just…stay calm.”

The Tengu was hovering right above them now, tilting its head at the rings. It then looked down. Izuku shivered when its beady black eyes focused on him, but it quickly moved on to Gran. The yokai’s beak split in what Izuku (thanks to Tokoyami) recognized as a grin. Its wings folded on its back, and it dropped to the ground right in front of them. Izuku resisted the urge to step back and gulp—it had a least two feet on him and was built like a brick house.

It peered down at Gran, grin growing wider. “Is that you, Sora?” it—he, his voice was like a rockslide—asked.

Gran relaxed, marginally, crossing his arms, “Ao. Been a long time.”

“Holy shit!” The now-named Ao threw his head back with a laugh, “It is! Man, you got old. And short. And wrinkly. And—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gran grumbled. “Not all of us can be nigh-immortal spirits.”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Ao wagged his finger—which, Izuku noted, had a large claw instead of a fingernail. “Jealousy is unbecoming. Especially in your diminutive state. Now,” he clapped his hands together, shifting his grinning gaze to Izuku, “who’re you?”

Izuku’s mouth went dry, throat constricting. Gran, thankfully, picked up the slack. “This is Midoriya. My student.”

“Another one?” Ao grunted, “You sure you up to the task, grandpa?”

Gran snorted, “I can still fly circles around you, feather-head.”

“Ooooh!” Ao crooned, “Is that a challenge?” There was a fiery glint in the Yokai’s inhuman eyes, but—and maybe Izuku was going crazy—there appeared to be a layer of warmth beneath that.

Before Gran could respond—an affirmation, based on his wide smile—a voice cried out form above them. “Hey!” a masculine voice shouted, “What the hell, Ao!” Another winged figure dropped down before them—this one much smaller than Ao, and, aside from his red wings, thoroughly human. “This was supposed to be a nice, relaxing flight, not an excuse for you to hara—oh,” the man blinked, turning to face Izuku and Gran, “you’re still here.”

Like a flash, the man’s identity burst forth in Izuku’s mind. “Ah!” he shouted, pointing forward, “You’re Hawks!”

“Hey!” Hawks grinned, shooting Izuku a pair of finger guns, “You’re the bronze medalist from the Sports Festival! Midoriya, right?”

Izuku nodded, lips splitting into a wide smile. “Hawks knows my name!” he shrieked to himself.

“Hawks also sent a draft for you,” the Pro-Hero smirked as Izuku blushed. “But I guess I was…lost to the shuffle.” He looked down at Gran with a dubious, almost disbelieving stare. Something twinged deep inside Izuku—he knew that Hawks was one of the greatest Pros Japan had ever produced, but he’d gotten enough grief over his internship choice from everyone at U.A.

But whatever Hawks was thinking, it vanished as his eyes widened. He leaned closer to Gran, “Wait…You’re…You’re Gran Torino, aren’t you? The Jet Hero?”

Gran was nonplussed. “Uh…yeah. How’d you—”

“Oh my god!” Hawks grinned, “I never thought I’d get to meet you in person!”

“In person?” Gran parroted.

“Yeah,” Hawks clasped his hands behind his head, “Back when I was a kid, my trainers would force me to watch all kinds of videos of you older Heroes in the field. Learned a lot from your footage—you and that cape-wearing woman you always hung out with—what’s her name?”

Gran’s bewilderment faded into melancholy, and even Izuku felt a sharp stab of grief for the woman he’d never know. “Anima. She called herself Anima.”

Hawks smile shrank, “Ah…sorry to hear about that.”

Gran shrugged, “It was before your time.”

“Still,” Hawks frowned, “she was good. Did good work. World’s a worse place without her.”

Gran’s fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were bone-white, tremors wracking his body. Izuku jumped forward, bowing at Hawks. “Excuse me, sir! I have a question!”

Hawks jerked back, “Wha—uh…Sure, kid.”

“I’m supposed to be doing agility training, and I was wondering if you could give me some pointers of aerial movement?”

Hawks arched a brow, looking Izuku up-and-down, “Uh…you sure you want to ask _me_?” he said, wings unfurling.

Izuku chuckled, losing a bit of steam, “Well…diving works the same for everyone, right?”

Hawks hummed, “I guess…but—”

Ao cut him off (making Hawks’s eyes narrow in response), “I can spare my cousin for a little bit, I suppose.”

“Cousin?” Izuku couldn’t help but blurt out.

“I know,” Ao sighed, pressing the back of his hand against his forehead, “All the good looks are from my side of the family, unfortunately.”

“I will pluck you,” Hawks playfully growled.

“You’re a Tengu?” Izuku gestured at Hawks.

“Technically, no.” Hawks replied. “I’m fully human,” his wings beat twice, “…You know what I mean.”

“But…you just said—”

“You know Pokémon?” Izuku nodded. “Well, when Yokai interbreed—with humans or different types of Yokai—they follow Pokémon breeding rules. The child will be whatever species the mother is.”

“More like Pokémon follows Yokai breeding rules,” Ao said with a roll of his eyes.

“Semantics. Though before the bombs, most Yokai-Human children were just regular old humans—maybe with a higher affinity towards magic. Now, though, they’re more likely to activate the Quirk or X-gene. Don’t really know why,” Hawks shrugged, “It’s a bunch of nonsense that I can barely wrap my head around.”

“It’s not nonsense,” Ao cut in. “The forces of the world interact with each other in chaotic, yet defined, ways. The radiation released by the bombs—and by all the testing leading up to and following them—added a great influx of a particular type of energy into the world—Japan especially. In turn, the forces of the world compensated by—”

“See!” Hawks laughed, pointing at Ao, “A whole bunch of nonsense!”

“Impudent brat,” Ao grumbled.

“Ha!” Gran chortled, in a much better mood than minutes ago, “Now you know how I feel!”

/+/+/+/+/

Gran leaned back against his chosen tree, watching as Izuku dove to the ground under Hawks’s instruction. The younger man’s instructions were similar to what Gran would have said but filtered through a much less hurried, desperate, and tired voice.

This…This was how Izuku should learn to use his powers. It’s how Toshinori should have learned to use his powers. Carefree, the only threat being gravity sneaking up on you.

“You’re awfully tense, my friend,” Ao’s deep rumble broke through Gran’s thoughts.

Gran huffed, settling further against the tree, “I’m old.”

“Yes,” Ao dropped down from his perch, sitting down beside Gran. “Too old to be taking on another student. Too old to still lurk after All for One.” Gran stilled, darting his eyes towards Hawks. “Don’t worry,” Ao said. He waved his hand, and the air shimmered in front of them, “neither of them can hear us talk about a should-be dead man.”

Gran’s focus narrowed to his inhuman ally. He sucked in a breath, “Did—” he tensed, “…Are you telling me that you knew—”

“That All for One yet lives?” At Gran’s jerky nod, Ao shook his head. “I did not. There is a change on the horizon, a darkness clinging to the air. But darkness is darkness, no matter its origin—you cannot pinpoint it, only acknowledge it. However,” he wagged his finger, beak spreading into a grin, “you training another young man connected, yet opposed, to that darkness? That narrows it down quite a bit.” Ao’s grin faded, wings drooping, “Although, for _you_ to be here instead of Yagi…”

“The brat’s still kicking,” Gran grunted, lifting Ao’s mood. “He’s just occupied with other things.”

“Preparing for another confrontation with his Demon?”

More like dancing around the fact that he wanted to _actually_ become Midoriya’s father, Gran though with amusement. Aloud, he said, “Among other things.”

“Ensure he—and Midoriya—are fully prepared by the time of their clash. You cannot afford anything less than a total victory.”

Gran nodded—tell him something he didn’t know. He arched a brow, “I don’t suppose you and yours would be willing to lend a limb?”

“We tried, remember?” Ao smirked mirthlessly, “We don’t need a repeat of _those_ events.”

“Things are different now.” Barely, but Gran was desperate. He couldn’t stand to lose Toshinori (or Midoriya, despite their short time together) like he’d lost Nana.

“Somewhat.” The Tengu agreed, “In any case, we can’t do anything meaningful. Thor and his ilk run a monopoly on interfering with your mortal affairs. No, I cannot help much, I’m afraid.” He nodded at Hawks and Midoriya, “The world rests upon their shoulders, now.”

“Yeah,” Gran turned his attention to his student. “But they don’t need our ghosts dragging them down.”

“They don’t need a lot of the things we heap upon them.” They sat in silence after that. Two old men basking in the tides of time.

Gran broke the silence, gesturing to the winged Hero. “Hawks—”

“Takami,” Ao cut in.

Gran nodded, “He’s really your cousin? You didn’t just adopt some winged child left out in the wilderness?”

“That doesn’t happen much anymore,” Ao shook his head. “But yes, he is my cousin by blood. My uncle and his mother have a consensual union, if you can believe it.”

“Really?” Gran sat up straighter, eyes widening. “They’re married?”

“Don’t look so surprised, her family maintains a shrine up in Tochigi.”

“But…he’s a Pro-Hero.”

“Yes,” Ao hummed, “It’s quite a step forward. Of course, he wasn’t allowed to attend one of your prestigious, ‘Hero Schools’.”

“I figured,” Gran nodded. “I can’t imagine a school drudging up old footage of me and Nana for training. Not when there’s more flashy heroes out there.”

“You two did make a good team.” Ao stared up at the sky, “Shame you couldn’t form that trio with Yagi like you wanted.”

Gran’s heart twinged, but he kept his face blank, “Yeah, shame that.”

“It’s getting late—you have a bus to catch, I imagine.”

Gran nodded, rising to his feet, “It was good to see you again, Ao.”

“Likewise,” the Tengu nodded. “And be careful, my friend.”

/+/+/+/+/

“So,” Keigo drawled after they’d been flying for a bit, “want to tell me what the hell that was?”

“What?” Ao looked over his shoulder. At his cousin’s blank stare, he shrugged, “I was just having a conversation.”

“Behind a sound-proof barrier?”

“I can’t have a private talk with an old friend?”

“Since when are you friends with humans?”

“Since when do you play nice with children?”

“I was taking an out, and you’re avoiding the question.”

“I _am_ pretty old. Us elderly folk forget things.” Keigo huffed, bursting forward and coming to a stop right in front of Ao. He halted as well, crossing his arms.

Keigo narrowed his eyes, “Gran Torino had a very active Underground career with Anima back in the day, and then they both dropped off the map out of nowhere—which I can surmise is due to her death.” More than he could know. “Then, years later, Gran Torino comes out of hiding and starts making strides against the Yakuza, paving the way for All Might to come in from America and wipe them out, and disappears once more. And now, once again, he’s popped up out of nowhere, this time, teaching a kid that’s taking a lot of cues from All Might.” He waved his hand, “Can you see how that might stoke my curiosity? Especially with that attack on U.A.?”

“Right, you’re looking into that,” Ao hummed, scratching the underside of his beak, “How’s that boy you’re using?”

Takami’s eye twitched, “Don’t change the subject.”

“Don’t be a shit teacher.”

“Ao!” Kagami shouted, flying forward and stopping centimeters in front of Ao’s beak. “This isn’t a game! If the Yakuza are making a comeback, we need to know!”

At that, Ao laughed. “The Yakuza? If, as you seem to believe, I was involved in something, do you think it would be as mundane as the Yakuza?”

Keigo drew back, “Something worse, then?”

Ao shrugged, “Better, worse, it’s a matter of perspective.” All for One, for all his terrible power, was just one man. True, at the height of his power, his reach extended all over Japan, and he had a decent influence in mainland Asia. But much of that reach was thanks to the Yakuza, who themselves were practically extinct. And with the multitude of international ‘Villains’ out there, amassing his previous level of influence would no doubt be a much harder task.

But it wasn’t his place to say. As much as he’d like to help Gran and Keigo, he couldn’t. All for One never interfered with the spiritual world, so the spiritual world never interfered with All for One. Such was the way things worked. They couldn’t be like Thor and the other western gods, doing whatever they pleased and damning the consequences.

Someone had to watch out for the stability of the world.

“If it really bothers you,” Ao shrugged, moving around Keigo, “why don’t you figure it out for yourself?”

His cousin scoffed, “Maybe I will,” and sped away.

Ao stared after him, wishing him, and the rest of Japan, luck in the coming days.

/+/+/+/+/

**A/N: This is way longer than I thought it would be. Be sure to leave a review. Later.**


End file.
